Speak and listen in a chat
Typing is not always the easiest way to work. In any chat with your assistant you can speak your message instead of typing it, and you can have the assistant read its answer aloud to you. If reading or typing is hard for you, this lets you take part by talking and listening instead, so the chat works the way that suits you.
You turn each one on yourself, right in the chat. This takes a minute to learn, and you do not need any technical knowledge.
Before you start
You need to be in a chat with your assistant, which is any chat in Sokra, so open one first. The first time you speak a message, your browser or device asks for permission to use the microphone, so tap allow when it asks. To hear an answer read aloud, wait until the assistant has finished writing it, because it reads back what is already on the screen.
Use voice to speak and listen
Voice is two separate switches you turn on when you want them: the microphone to speak your message, and read-aloud to listen to an answer. Neither one stays on; you use them in the chat you are in. Try them in order.
1. Speak your message
Find the microphone button next to the message box and tap it. The first time, your browser or device asks to use the microphone, so allow it. Once it shows that it is listening, say your message normally, then tap the microphone again to stop. What you said turns into text and drops into the message box.
2. Check what it heard and send
Your spoken words land in the message box as a normal draft, so read them over, fix anything the microphone misheard, and send the message the way you always do. Because it is just text now, you can also type a little more before you send.
3. Listen to an answer
On any finished answer from your assistant, tap the Read aloud button, the speaker icon. Your assistant reads that answer out loud. Tap it again to stop before it finishes. Read-aloud works once an answer has fully arrived and has text in it.
Tips
- Speak in short, clear sentences and pause when you finish. Short stretches turn into text more accurately than one long run-on.
- Always glance at the words before you send. Names, subject terms and numbers are the parts the microphone most often gets wrong.
- If reading the answer is the hard part, let read-aloud do it for you. You can listen as many times as you need.
Data & safety
Speaking a message uses your microphone, so your browser or device asks permission the first time and you decide when it is on. What you say is turned into text so your assistant can read it, the same as if you had typed it. Read-aloud just plays back an answer that is already on your screen. Your assistant can still be wrong and the microphone can mishear, so check what comes back, the same as you would with any other answer. If you would rather not use your microphone, you can always type instead.
Troubleshooting
Nothing happens when I tap the microphone. Your browser or device may be waiting for you to allow microphone access. Allow it when you are asked, then tap the microphone again. If access is blocked, turn it back on in your browser or device settings and try once more.
My words came out wrong. The text lands in the message box where you can edit it, so fix it there before you send. Speaking in shorter sentences and saying tricky words clearly helps the next time.
The Read aloud button does nothing. Read-aloud works only on a finished answer that has text in it. Wait for the answer to fully arrive, then tap Read aloud again.